Struggling with frugality, debt, parenting, and weight

Detailed Financial Picture – October 2012

As of October 3, 2012, we are $488,942.73 in debt (that includes the mortgage). Without the mortgage, we’re at $60,645.81 in debt. This includes credit cards, student loans, lines of credit and an auto loan. We currently have $871,433.15 in assets (including our house). Our retirement accounts are at $240,861.17. This doesn’t include my September paycheck deduction or match – that doesn’t get deposited until the 15th of the month.

We paid off more last month than I was expecting given our ride through August, but not as much as I would have liked to. The beginning of September saw us spending a lot of money on groceries, but the end of September and the beginning of October will slow down as I travel. The accounts get drained a bit, but I get paid back at the end of October for anything I paid out of pocket (except souvenirs, etc.), so by November’s numbers, we’ll be equal. Most of Dad’s extra paycheck went to rebuild savings after August, and some of October’s budget includes paying our savings back first, so it’ll be another “slow” month in the debt repayment department. Hopefully, November has us back on track for throwing more money at the line of credit – I’d really like to see if we can pay it off by the end of February.

I sold a few things before I started traveling, and added some money, but not much. I had to slow down on selling things as I started traveling, as I’m not going to be around to meet people, and I’m not going to ask that Dad does it in addition to everything he’s already doing. I should get back on track when I get home and get to breathe a little.

The beginning half of October should see a decline in general spending as well, since I’ll still be traveling, and not spending money on gas, etc. Dad should also be relatively light on the groceries since he has plenty of food in the freezer.

Obviously our retirement accounts did well this month – we didn’t add $20,000 to them from our paychecks. Hopefully, they continue to do well and we can retire happy – someday.